My Love Will Laugh With Me (Before Morning Comes)
by InsanityatBest
Summary: In Ancient Egypt, Ahmanet had Meritamen. She had a throne on the horizon. She had her father the Pharaoh's word and love. In one act, she loses it all. In 2017, she has Lelah Rene. She refuses to lose.
1. I Sing of Ahmanet

I sing a tale that begins in the eons past in a time of kings, queens and gods.

In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh sat watching his people with a straight back and a furrowed brow. He watched them bring in the waters of the Nile and the children of the workers play. They laughed and sung; some ran and kicked the ball. Each child was happy with round bellies and clean skin. He wondered then of his own child, the one still inside his wife.

She sat in the courtyard with the children watching them with gentle eyes. Her belly swelled with life and her hand cradled it rubbing lazy circles. 'There lies my son,' he thought. 'Safe in his mother and in moons, out to fullfill my legacy.' He wanted to be remembered. Pharoah watched his wife with a keen eye, but his thoughts were miles away.

When his son was born, he'd inherit Upper and Loyal Egypt. He would have to endure the long hours planning their survival, communing with the the Gods for guidance and fighting to protect his home from enemies. What of the enemies in Egypt? The Church of Amun grew strong and favored by the people: a risk to their dynasty.

So it was decided then, his son would marry a girl from the Church of Amun born to be his bride and daughter of the Highest Priest.

Pharaoh looked away then from his wife calling for his advisors.

It took much out of him. Some argued his son must decide his own bride for he would rule with her by his side. Another argued sending the message was a sign of weakness. "A plea," the man said with a head high and perhaps too big. There were more who saw reason. To unite the two further would lessen the danger. Both high born offspring would marry once they were mature. If he did not like his wife, he could take another or a concubine.

The message was sent, a reply sent back first and his plan seemed to come to fruition.

It was not meant to be.

On the birthing table his wife laid dead and gone. The child alive and strong but not a son. The son, Ahmen, that he pictured for months did not exist. A daughter who he named Ahmanet, the feminine after the wife of the God, was what he had. Pharaoh notified the church without a care grieving for his wife and the future he'd seen with his son.

The deal survived because of a clause. The High Priest's wife was pregnant with the one day Pharaoh's bride. The deal was for their daughter to marry a child of Pharaoh, and there were years to have a son. They gave Pharaoh their daughter who was aptly named Meritamen: beloved of Amun.

The two girls were to be companions until a birth of a son would divide them. Meritamen was raised to be a queen with the people, palace and Pharaoh-to-be on her side. Ahmanet trained to be a Pharaoh as her father failed time and time again to provide a son. It was hard for both with many hours spent with tutors and Ahmanet learning to defend her country. In the spaces between, the girls looked to one another playing together when allowed and sneaking to each other's bed to talk when they could not play.

The years were kind to them both. Meritamen grew wise and beautiful with eyes the color of copper that haunted Ahmanet when she closed hers. Ahmanet grew strong: a talented fighter, a head for math and beautiful. Meritamen smiled at the mention of her name and found comfort in the nights they shared each other's bed.

It was a badly kept secret. One night with the Pharaoh, he proclaimed to Ahmanet when was Pharaoh she could choose a consort male or female. Immediately, she thought of her Merita with copper eyes and each curl that bounced with her every step. Ahmanet looked straight into her father's eyes proclaiming she would marry Meritamen when she became Pharaoh clearing him of his deal.

He would never understand.

The birth of Pharaoh's son spelt the end for everything Ahmanet held dear. Her future as Pharaoh was as good as dead. Her father had the son he wished and grew cold. Her love, her Meritamen, betrothed to the infant boy who'd she marry once he came to age.

It was too much.

Meritamen thought for hours on how to get out of it. She did not want to marry a child. She wanted Ahmanet who warmed her bed and took care of her heart. No long term solution could be found without a death. She couldn't kill an innocent child and could not fathom how to get the Pharaoh without being caught. She was doomed. She would be Queen with the wrong child of Pharaoh.

Ahmanet had no such misgivings. In the dead of night while Meritamen slept, she made a deal that changed it all. She prayed naked and vulnerable in the cold of her table. She was still strong and proud until he heard her call. Then she shook cringing as the contract tore her skin and Set hoarsely breathed down her neck. Set answered her plea for her rightful birthright with power beyond her imagination. She killed that night: the Pharaoh for his cold heart, the concubine and the crying son in the next room.

There was still a price: a human body for Set.

A loyal servant offered. He laid flat as the Princess moved for the Dagger of Set. He imagined immortality and perhaps Ahmanet by his side. If not, he saw the titles and the potential to rule both the Princess and her consort. He saw the gold and the power but not the arrow that would end his life. Amahnet was found before the dagger could touch his heart. Paralyzing darts ended her fight. She could only watch as they wrapped her in linen and covered her coffin heedless of her screams.

They buried her where she'd never be found. Entombed deep in the earth alive, she wasted away for killing the royal family. Meritamen was never seen again.

From there was a curse. Whoever freed her, would bring Set into this world. Amahnet would return her heart black and ready to fight for her throne denied. She would return angry and broken haunted by copper eyes that cried in the darkness. Ahmanet was trapped there for a millenia.

Then she was not.


	2. Thief Sergeant Moron

If anyone asks Dr. Lelah Fidelis Rene, there is no such thing as coincidences.

She believes in facts. With everything she has, Lelah believes there is a reasoning for everything that happens on this planet. Why do earthquakes happen? Tectonic plates break along a fault line creating seismic waves that shake the area. Why is she an archaeologist? Lelah dreamed of Ancient Egypt since she was a child. Why did Nick Morton steal from her?

He wants to die.

He doesn't want to live because Lelah has many rules, and he broke most of them in a single night. Don't wake her up. Check. Don't flirt with Lelah in front of her best friend he's trying to sleep with. Check. Don't proposition her for a threesome when he finds out she is pansexual and staying in the same suite as a female colleague. Check. Don't leave a one night stand, especially her friend, the morning after without so much as a note after n their shared suite. Check. Don't take her belongings without permission. Hmmm. Stealing their lives' work that Lelah sacrificed her whole life for?

He's asking to die.

As always, Lelah comes early and prepared to northern Iraq just moments before her colleague. She stomps through the sand unseen; her five feet hiding her from the busy soldiers' gaze. The area is surrounded by them, and she knows exactly why. The men march in unison leaving her unseen and unheard easily drowned hers out. She continues to creep through the sand, watching them all with a hawk's focus, until she notices his face. Nick Morton.

Thanks to having a younger big sister, she gives him the uppercut of his life.

(She ignores the dream of a bronzed woman she's never met curling her fingers into a perfect fist.)

Her fist connects with his jaw with a solid crack. His jaw rattled with the impact as he left the sand to crash into it only seconds later. He rose with a crack of his jaw and a perfect imprint of her knuckles blooming near his chin.

"I deserve that," he said moving his jaw sideways and back to ensure it wasn't popped out of place.

The men cringed in sympathy rubbing their jaws in unison.

"That is the least I owe you," she finished primly before looking at the approaching Dr. Jennifer Halsey.

The statuesque blonde walked over with each step surprising graceful despite the unsteady landscape. She kept her head high and her shoulders back as she stared at the scene. Two men, one black and obviously of a higher rank, the other not, wearing what could pass as civilian clothes. Both drop their hands from their chin at her attention. The last is the Nick Morton, the thief, on his ass rubbing his tender face.

"Pity, Lelah found you first." Jenny held out her hand. He didn't question it and was on his feet fast enough. With one hand, she studied the growing mark. "That'll sting," she clicks to herself softly. The same hand that checked his face let go only to connect harshly to the skin of his cheek. The sound of the rushing air between her fingertips created a satisfying loud whack. She smiles as a matching bruise, albeit lighter than the punch, starts to rise to the surface. "I hope that stung too," she finishes dryly.

Lelah smirks at Jenny's side holding in a snicker.

"Now where is it?"

Moron grasps his cheek hissing at the forming mark. He looks between both women shocked.

"Where is it?" Lelah repeats Jenny stepping closer to him. He flinches. "Don't play dumb. We're in the middle of the desert and your boss isn't protecting you right now. Do you want to go home in casts or walking on two feet?"

"What? Where is what?"

Lelah sighs, exasperated.

She walks into Moron's face rolling her eyes at his rookie mistake.

"You know exactly what we're talking about," Lelah says gritting it through her teeth. "You already admitted I punched you for a reason. Just say it so we can move on."

Nick stays silent eyes jumping between the two women. The blonde Jenny, slender and tall, waited for his response with a hand on her hip. The brunette Lelah waits stone-faced her crossed over her chest. He keeps his eyes firmly on theirs still sore from the punch about a comment, not an action.

"The letter," she scowls deeper. "The map you stole from me."

Nick fake gasps.

"Map? I have no idea what you're talking about."

His eyebrows raise, and Lelah tilts her head giving Jenny the universal can-you-believe-this-shit side eye women share.

"I've never even had the opportunity to steal anything from you, Miss...?"

Both women chuckle, incredulous.

"It's 2017, Sergeant Moron. No will cares if a woman has casual sex," Lelah says giving the men around her a pointed glare.

Jenny sarcastically smiles at the man in camo.

"Sergeant Nick is under the impression I would be embarrassed to tell you I had him in my hotel room three nights ago in Baghdad. While I was in the bathroom, he hit on my roommate-"

"It was a bad joke," he says eyeing Lelah warily.

Jenny continues as if he never spoke.

"And whilst I was sleeping, he went through my things," Jenny glares at Nick. "I'm not embarrassed, Nick. Disgusted? Yes. Regretful? Yes," She scoffs. "But mainly just amazed, at your ability to mimic all the qualities of genuine human intimacy if only for..." Jenny glances down meaningfully to the men's laughs. "Fifteen seconds?"

"Ten," Lelah corrected. "To think, I was in the next room and you could've had more fun with me."

Jenny winked as everyone laughed.

The Colonel coughed loudly.

"Where is the map, Moron-Morton?" he corrects himself.

Nick looks up at the Colonel voice higher than usual.

"Sir, I admit that Miss Halsey and I spent an amazing evening together in Baghdad," he says emphasizing the next sentence loudly. "A long and satisfying evening," He ignored Lelah as she made a v with her pointer and middle finger licking the space in between. Jenny bit her cheek as they both straightened their faces. "-if her reactions are to be considered sincere. But sir, I left with nothing more than fond memories."

He looks between the Colonel and Jenny.

"Now, perhaps I may have neglected to say goodbye to her the next morning only because she was exhausted and I didn't want to wake her."

Jenny walked away finished with the whole conversation.

"And the reward for my gracious consideration?" he says loudly in her direction. "Sir, 'Hell hath no fury.'"

A sudden weight hits his back leg. He collapses with the last word as he falls into the ground. A small puff of dust rises. Lelah looks away biting her tongue and escaping to Jenny.

Nick stays there half kneeling in the sand.

"Get up," Lelah calls out. "You're embarrassing yourself."

He starts to get up but continues watching them walk farther away.

No one tells him about the dusty footprint on the back of his calf.

"Stop watching my ass!"


	3. Meritamen

The stone face silently screams in the dark of the crater. The underground leaves a lasting impression on the face. Earth clings to the black stone after millennia underground. Its eyes are dark and chain Lelah to the sand. She stands at the mouth of the hole: brown eyes trained on the scream.

Muted shrieks echo through her ears and a voice choked with tears whispers:

"Meritamen."

Lela shivers at the halted name. Her heart aches deep in her chest as she struggles to breathe through it. The voice sounds so familiar: husky yet sweet. Again, the name echoes through her ears until someone misses a step behind her.

She blinks. The voice is gone and soon so will her friend. Lelah grabs Jenny's arm roughly right before she can hit the sand and possibly slide down. It happens so quickly few catch the misstep Jenny comes to her feet quickly, unshaken and smiling widely. Jenny hits Lelah's arm repeatedly, excited.

"Oh my God! Lela, don't you see it?!"

Lelah nods still coming back to herself.

Chris, the man wearing the same uniform as Nick, approaches. He looks anything but scary. Chris awkwardly rubs his neck staring into the dark of the tunnel. Lelah sees him and grins when he flinches at the depth of the hole.

Jenny notices his attention.

"It's Egyptian," She says half explaining half thinking out loud.

"Why is that-?"

"We're not in Egypt," Lelah says interrupting. "Yeah, we're on the Fertile Crescent, but this is Mesopotamia."

"We're on the Persian Gulf, Chris."

Jenny nods without looking at anyone.

"Right. Egypt is a thousand miles away, so it's pretty unusual," Chris surmises shaking his head.

Both archaeologists race to the Colonel. As Jenny grabs the supplies, Lelah begins to talk.

"Colonel, my partner and I are here to save ancient relics from being destroyed. There is no reason an Egyptian work should be underground unless it's leading to a room. That room is probably filled with countless treasures that are now exposed because of that air strike. You need to protect this area until we get as much out as possible."

Lelah waited for him to meet her eyes.

"I want in there and you're letting me," Lelah says gesturing towards him. "Name your price."

As Lelah scales down the tunnel, she eyes the men behind her in suspicion. Nick's friend apparently named Chris shrinks back when her eyes meet his. Good. Lelah stares down Nick from head to toe as they start to reach the middle. She gives one last meaningful glare at his eyes and hands before looking down to see their progress.

The hole is larger than Lelah thought. A pit forms in her stomach. The farther they go, the darker it becomes. She refuses to give into it. At a certain point, Lelah reaches for her flashlight glaring at the rocky walls. She bites her cheek as they continue down. At a snail's pace, they gradually reach the ground. Lelah is the first to remove herself from the safety harness, and her hair stands up as she feels someone watching her.

She points her flashlight almost dropping at what she sees.

Behind her was the gigantean figure: all man except for his birdlike head. A single eye stared down Lelah, and she held in a chill. The Set statue would've hidden Lelah in his shadow if sunlight reached that deep. It was an otherworldly green under her flashlight. She swallowed harshly as she took in his stance. Set, the god of violence, desert, storms, and chaos knelt on one knee. What would possess a god to bow to another?

There's an audible click as the video camera starts rolling.

"I am in a large antechamber of some kind," Jenny says walking further in and Lelah follows behind.

"There's an inscription on the northern wall."

Lelah steps closer trying to make sense of the hieroglyphs.

Her neck turns swiftly as she hears a mass of dirt and rock fall on the men behind.

Lelah walks closer to them studying the silver metallic liquid in Nick's hands.

"What is that? Mercury?" Chris and Lelah lean into watching drops of the liquids fall into Nick's hands.

"Jenny, it's mercury," Lelah marveled.

Jenny took a closer look.

"The ancient Egyptians believed it weakened evil spirits," she thought aloud.

Lelah looked down seeing the narrow trail of mercury.

"Kills you too."

"Makes you crazy," Chris added.

"There's a canal system," Lelah says quietly following the silver road.

With each step, she leaves the group to themselves walking deeper into the antechamber. The archaeologist turns on her own camera. She taking in the writings on the walls and the mercury stream. She passes numerous statues: each in a fighting stance or bowing.

"Someone important was put in here," she says aloud. "I'm not seeing evidence that supports this, however. They must have done something unforgivable."

"-big lights!"

Abruptly, the antechamber is bathed in light, but she can't stop now. There in the center of the room is a deep power of glowing silver. Lelah stumbles over almost leaning on one of the protective statues. She looks down cringing. A skull stares back at her an unbroken bracelet still around his wrist.

She takes a deep breath to calm herself as the others catch up.

"The people here could have been priests or followers of this person. Perhaps guards," she narrates for the recorder ignoring the pairs of eyes watching her. " will confirm."

Lelah walks around the pool ignoring Jenny's own recording attempts.

She studies the chains around the big pillars.

"Meant to keep in not out," she mutters aloud.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a dirty hand reach for a necklace glowing dully under the muted flares of flashlights.

"DON'T!"

Nick jumps at the sudden sound and barely stops himself from falling.

"We both steal things from the dead," he retorts throwing his hands in the air. "Stop acting all high and mighty because you're paid to."

She watches him, impassive.

"Every man has a price. Not everyone makes theirs off stealing from the dead."

Lelah turns her back to him.

"There is a canal at the center of them," Jenny speaks into her recorder. "that feeds a ritual well at the base, filled with mercury. Beads of scarabs, scarab signal rings. This is a high priest of Ammon from the temple of the Thebes. There is a ritual barrier chain that's around the well as a warning to intruders."

Jenny takes a breath.

"To keep people out."

"There isn't a single provision made for someone's journey into the underworld. No Canopic jars, no Shabtis."

Lelah's face falls.

"This is a fate worse than death in Ancient Egypt," Lelah finishes.

Jenny nods distracted walking around the pool.

"There are six watchers around the well facing inward instead of out. Whatever is in there," Jenny takes a breath."Those chains aren't for bringing it up. They are for holding it down. This is not a tomb. It's a prison.

Lelah takes a breath staring at the chains coming from the water. Her eyes follow as they wind across the wide pillars and go towards the ceiling. She can't voice what she's searching for until she finds it.

"Meritamen...".

She couldn't hear the harsh whispers behind her.

"I'm not leaving until I see what's in that pool.," Jenny shouts.

It pulls Lelah out of her daze.

"It's staying," she hears Chris say stubbornly.

Lelah feels behind her back sighing at the cool feel of metal.

She raises it and aims for that peculiar chain that connects to them all.

"Having a cop sister better pay off," she mutters to herself.

Lelah shoots.

The chain snaps.

Something moves in the pool. Lelah's neck whips in that direction. A sarcophagus raises with a bronzed scream. The face is feminine with a full mouth shrieking and vomiting mercury. Lelah holds in a chill. The eyes are unseeing but the empty sockets glue Lelah's feet to the ground.

"It's going with us," Lelah answers not looking behind her. Why bother? She can already feel them watching her.

Then they start screaming.

Camel spiders. Colonies of them run at the group. 'Brown amazon-legged creatures with furry legs and many eyes,' Lelah thinks and immediately regrets She can hear Chris's shrieks but closes her eyes holding her breath.

Gunshots.

They ricochet off the stone walls but Lelah is frozen.

"Cease fire!" Nick screams. "They are not poisonous! They are camel spiders, Vail! Camel spiders! Are you out of your mind?"

"It bit me!" Chris shrieks back but the gunshots stop.

All noise stops.

Lelah opens her eyes.

She took a deep breathtaking in the warm rays and glittering sands. Lelah looks around her. Mountains of the golden sand stretch as far as she can dipping into hills and valleys. Lelah takes in the peace of this desert enjoying the heat against her skin.

"Meritamen..."

She turns her head at the whisper.

A long white train dances in the breeze.

Turquoise dipped fingers trailing down her spine.

Lelah is speechless. Across the burning sands, she sees a woman. This woman is...Lelah can't think. She sees the bronze skin shining in the sun. She sees lean thighs and bare feet: forgotten moments of them wrapped around her. Raven black hair curling in the heat, 'always smelling like her favorite oils', a voice reminds her. Fiery dark eyes keep Lelah rooted to her spot lined in fierce cold and sapphire blue paint.

Lelah looks down.

Blue, 'turquoise', a voice corrects covers the tips of her toes.

Gently, a slender hand raises her head from the ground.

The woman leans in their noses touched.

Sure hands grasp Lelah's waist.

"I hoped you would find me." she almost whispers nosing Lelah's jawline.

"I missed you."

She trails kisses from her jaw to her full lips.

Those dark eyes make Lelah's heartbeat out her chest.

"My chosen."

She leans in impossibly close breathing against Lelah's lips.

"My one."

Lelah shuts her eyes as at the gentle pressure of her kiss.

"Lelah!"

She jumps.

"Are you okay?" Both Jenny and Nick speak but only Jenny runs over.

She lays her hand across Lelah's forehead.

"You're burning up," she says, worried."Nick get a team to get the sarcophagus so we can leave."

"We have company coming. We need to leave like yesterday," he rebuts.

"I speak for both of us when I say we're not leaving without that sarcophagus."

Everything goes by in a rush. In a daze, she watches as they lift the sarcophagus from its jail. Crows, a hundred at least, fly by and settle near them. Out of it, she drops a couple crackers for them. She races to the plane with Jenny urging the men to be careful, she's priceless, she's ancient until the sarcophagus is safely locked down in its ropes.

Jenny leads Lelah to a seat pushing cold water bottles into her lap before running to read the sarcophagus.

An awkward silence builds between the nearby Nick and Lelah.

"I'm sorry for the threesome comment," Nick said scratching his head. "I had a couple drinks but that's no excuse. I'm not against lesbians or anything. Honest."

"Pansexual," Lelah corrects him. "Just because I'm attracted to girls too doesn't make me a lesbian."

"Yeah, that," he finishes lamely. "I have nothing against you or anything."

Lelah nods along shutting her eyes briefly.

A warm hand grasps the back of her neck-

"You're welcome, by the way."

His voice shatters the illusion.

Lelah watches him, silent.

"Without me, it'd never be found otherwise."

Lelah closed her eyes again touching her forehead.

"You stole it from Jenny after having sex with her."

Nick's smile wanes.

"I still found it."

"5,000 years it sat there," she reminded him.

"Without me,' he emphasizes.

Lelah exhales loudly.

"You're absolutely right," she said her voice sweet as sugar. "I should thank you."

"It was noth-"

"Thank you for leading me to the find of my career. Thank you for trying to fetishize my sexuality. Thank you for TRYING TO STEAL EVERYTHING I'VE WORKED AS A CHILD FOR A PAYROLL!"

The men jump at the sudden shout. One rises to reprimand her. Lelah holds up a single finger pointing to the other side of the plane. The soldier follows the instruction while the others try to whisper. She ignores them all focusing on Nick's quickly reddening face. She leans forward close to his ear. She breathes and he shivers at the contact.

"I'm not forgetting the fact you used my friend."

Nick opens his mouth, and Lelah shushes him.

"So you need to talk to her about that."

Lelah shakes her head.

"The next time you steal from me it's on sight," she finishes almost mouthing the words. "I study mummies for a living. Don't think for a second I don't know how to make one."

She rises slowly wiping imaginary sand off her khaki shorts before making her way to the sarcophagus.

"This is Dr. Jennifer Halsey," Jenny pushes up her glasses as she speaks. "Conducting a preliminary analysis of an Egyptian sarcophagus discovered in the Nineveh province, northern Iraq. The hieroglyphs are definitely the New Kingdom. It appears that the wife of King Menehptre died in childbirth leaving a sole heir to the throne a girl called Ahmanet."

Lelah tilts her head as she hears the dull thuds of staffs hitting one another.

She caresses the sarcophagus amazed at its warmth.

"I can take over from here, Jenny," Lelah says her eyes not leaving the screaming face.

She blinks as the beautiful woman from before dodges a hit smoothly, eyes never wavering from her male opponent. 'Ahmanet,' a husky voice whispers. The bronze woman bows to a man; a heart-stopping smirk on her face.

They lay in a room with soft sheets and translucent curtains.

Her soft hands' trails from Lelah's lips to the honeyed skin of her belly.

"Setap'i,' Ahmanet whispers on Lelah's thighs.

"We will meet again."

Ahmanet kisses her and Lelah gasps as the dagger breaks skin...

Lelah blinks, and the world has changed.

The corporal's body makes an odd sound as it hits the ground.

She gasps stumbling away.

"Chris put the knife down!"

'It isn't him,' Lelah thought as she scrambled away from him.

He was the walking dead. His left eye, a milky white orb, blind and open. His skin a rotting light gray that turned Lelah's stomach and his veins...

Black.

Marred.

Dead.

They all huddle together against the end of the plane.

Three gunshots and what used to be Chris Vail is dead.

Hundreds of ravens so the pilots are dead.

As Lelah is airborne, she thinks of the parachutes on the nearby wall.

She slams into the unrelenting metal headfirst with the taste of metal on her tongue and something warm trailing down her cheek.

"PARACHUTE!"

"PARACHUTE!"

Nick clicks Jenny's on in seconds sending her flying out the broken wall safe and sound.

There's only one parachute left.

Lelah makes her choice.

The click of the belt sounds like her death bell.

She hugs the man who wasn't as careless as she thought.

She pushes him out with the same ferocity she punched him before.

There, leaning against the wall, Lelah waits to die with her eyes fully closed and screaming at the pressure as the plane meets the ground.


	4. Naked and Afraid

Lelah chokes on her screams.

Her eyes are wide as vainly clutches at her throat. She digs into the hand she finds: tearing skin and breaking nails. He doesn't let up. He stands over her with one hand around her neck and the other in her hair. He wraps his fist around her hair pushing her deeper into the murky Nile.

She opens her eyes, desperate, kicking her legs at the black ones in front of her.

"Give in."

It takes her a moment to realize it's not English.

"Die, Meritamen," he says impassively. Lelah's vision starts to blur. She takes in the black cloth tied around his neck and the dark eyes that emptily gaze at her. "Don't make this harder on herself."

Her lungs burn.

Her body won't move.

She feels her eyes roll back.

Lelah bursts out of the body bag wet and silently screaming.

She tears at the bag ripping the clear plastic from her skin. Lelah pulls at her arms, at her legs, and holds herself in the dark of the morgue. She trembles on the cold metal slab huddled in a ball. Lelah closes her eyes burying her face in her arms.

She stays there, quiet and small, under the fluorescent lights.

The lights flicker.

Lelah opens her eyes slowly. She takes in the dull gray of the morgue. The room is bleak: all metals and whites. She ignores the white sheets on the tables like hers. She makes it out heads, arms, feet...

Lelah bites her cheek until she tastes metal.

She tugs on the little strip of paper on her big toe making out 'UNKNOWN' in all caps.

The hair on the back of her neck stands up. Like a chill, it travels up her spine gnawing at her senses. Her fingers tremble slightly as she feels for something sharp. She grabs the scalpel holding it tight.

Lelah stills before looking behind her.

Nothing.

Still paranoid, she turns forward.

Lelah throws the scalpel, eyes the size of planets, as it passes through him.

Chris Vail.

Her stomach rolls at what's left of Nick's best friend.

He is a mottled gray. There is dark bruising on his temples and arms like someone threw him. Already, one eye is a milky ball but it focuses on Lelah. The other eye, still brown, stares into Lelah intently. She tries to ignore the three bloodstains on the white tee. She still remembers those gunshots.

"You were with Nick Morton," Lelah says stammering."I watched you die."

The creature in front of her watches her impassive.

"We need to talk."

Lelah scoffs tucking her hair behind her ears.

"We don't have much to talk about at all. We've met once," she struggles for words. "You shouldn't even be here. What is even going on?"

"You know what's going on," he says leaning forward.

Lelah recoiling.

"We died on the plane, didn't we?"

Chris Vail laughs. It's dark and twisted: a mockery of a laugh. He walks closer to Lelah holding onto the metal slab. He's still smiling, the teeth surprisingly still white, when he answers.

"Dead?"

Chris Vail loses his smile.

"No. But you are gonna wish you were."

Lelah's eyes widened, and the door opens with an audible click. She turns swiftly, speechless. She makes out the dark shadows behind the warped glass. Lelah grabs the discarded plastic and pulls it tight across her body.

"Come on this way, please."

They walk in and freeze at the sight of Lelah.

Lelah clutches the plastic tighter.

It's silent for a moment.

"I-I-I-," Nicks says stammering. "Can someone get her some damn clothes?"

Jenny stumbles forward before breaking into a dead run. Her red eyes shine in the lights. The blonde hair waves behind her as she collides with Lelah. The two hug each other tight ignoring the men in the room.

"Lelah," Jenny almost sighs the words from her place at Lelah's throat.

She doesn't let go of Jenny but looks up from the blonde waves.

"I'd like a shower and a change of clothes."

The men don't move.

She sighs, exasperated.

"In that order, please."

Nick laughs and wipes his face.

"Guess I owe you a drink after this."

Lelah has to admit that Nick Morton could've chosen a worse pub.

There are just enough people for background noise and not to scream their orders at the bar. The wooden floors and tables are so clean they sparkle in the light. Lelah takes in the red woods, the plush seats and the flat screen hooked to the top of the bar.

The three of them can't look away from the screen.

Lelah pales at the plane crash site.

It's all crumbled metal, smoke and dying flames. The field ruined. The green grass is now burnt soil with smoke still rising. She takes in the still burning flames and the pieces of metal scattered everywhere. The whole area is a dead zone, and Lelah struggles to breathe for a moment.

Jenny looks away to study Lelah's face.

Lelah stares back.

"How did you get out of that plane?"

Nick leans forward raising his eyebrows.

"I didn't," Lelah muttered before stealing Nick's shot.

"Hey!"

Lelah ignores him making a face at the harsh burn.

Nick chuckles slapping her back and pouring her another.

"I'm so happy you're alive," Jenny says reaching for Lelah's hand. She squeezes. "I just don't see how. There's not a single scratch on your body."

Lelah squeezes back.

From behind Jenny, she sees the rotting Chris wink at her before disappearing.

'I don't think I am.'

"Can you get Lelah one of those fruity foo-foo drinks?" Nick said shaking his empty glass. "She can't handle whiskey."

Jenny raises an eyebrow but Lelah nods her head quickly asking for some peanuts too.

As she gets up, she gives Nick and Lelah a parting glare.

Behave.

They smile.

It drops as soon as she's out of sight.

Nick takes his last shot before playing with the empty glass.

"Why did you give the last parachute?"

Lelah stares back, impassive.

"You don't like me," he gives her a moment to speak. She doesn't. "Why give me a chance to live? We argued all that day. You even said it was 'on sight'." Lelah's lips twitch. "So why?"

She breathes.

"You saved her life," Lelah said nodding towards her best friend. "Let's lie and say you would have done the same for me."

She crosses her arms.

Nick huffs.

"I was going to," he says looking at the table. "The last time I saw you, you hugged me and threw me out of a plane."

Lelah bites her cheek.

"I wanted to do that earlier," she says finally smiling.

"Whiskey and a Sex On The Beach," Jenny says sliding Lelah her drink.

Lelah takes a sip almost choking when Chris Vail tips a hat to her and disappears.

She can't possibly do this sober, so she doesn't.

Every time Lelah sees Chris Vail, she drinks.

Too soon, her drink is empty so she takes Nick's shots.

They hit her quickly.

She hiccups as she studies the bottom of the shot glass before gesturing to the bartender once more.

Jenny shakes her head at the bartender. She moves her hand near her own neck waving it fingertips first.

The bartenders nods.

Lelah didn't even notice.

Lelah hiccups staring unseeingly as Nick fills her glass with amber liquid.

"You wanna know why I do what I do?"

"I've been having dreams about this girl since I was small," Lelah says with a toothy grin. "I would shut my eyes and open them to a golden room with rich colors and precious metals. She is so beautiful in her white dresses. She teaches me how to throw a punch or mathematic. Sometimes we lay in bed talking for hours. It's not English but the language feels so natural. When I got older, I had dreams of us doing things in that bed," she finishes blushing.

"You're very gay," Nick deadpans.

"It's why I became an archaeologist," she stumbles over the word, laughing. "The dreams appear to be Ancient Egyptian."

Jenny interrupts, concerned.

"That's why we started to work together in university," she says looking at Lelah briefly who blinks. "Listen, Nick. I think you should know what's going on. You know I work with a group of archaeologists including Lelah."

Nick nods.

"Yeah."

"Well," Jenny looks at Lelah, "We developed a theory that Ancient Egypt. Its people erased an Egyptian princess from the history books deliberately. We've been searching for something called 'The Dagger of Set'. A ceremonial knife with a large jewel at the hilt."

Jenny turns toward Nick.

"Set is the Egyptian God of death," she pauses to take a breath." And legend has it that the dagger and the stone, together, had the power to give Set physical form. We're convinced it's here, hidden in Europe. Stolen by Crusaders centuries ago. Lelah found a manuscript that references it. A crusader knight wrote it, and it suggests someone broke the dagger and the stone apart. The stone, we believe, they buried with this knight somewhere here in England."

" A massive crusader tomb was recently discovered under London. We believe that the stone is down there. That tomb is what led us to Ahmanet."

She pauses.

"I think she is the princess in the legend," Jenny hurries through. "The hieroglyphics said that she murdered her father."

"Murdered?"

Jenny nods.

"Along with his child. She made some sort of pact with the God of death. And then, when I saw those birds... and that sandstorm..." She trails off.

"Whatever. I mean something is happening," Nick agrees.

"She should be dead," Jenny says quietly glancing at Lelah still smiling at nothing.

Nick looks at Lelah.

"I-I..."

Jenny touches his hand looking into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I think we angered the Gods."

She bites her lip.

"Lelah is not safe."

Lelah blinks looking in their direction at the sound of her name.

Chris's graying face and white eye sneer at Lelah before pointing to the girls' bathroom.

Lelah jumps, stumbling to her feet.

"I have to go."

Jenny watches her go, concerned.

She pulls out her phone.

"It's Jennifer. Get me Henry."

Lelah half runs into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.

She turns on the faucet throwing ice cold water on her face.

"Are you done yet?"

Lelah jumps stumbling to dry her face.

"Listen, already," he sighs heavily. "There's fates worse than death. We're that."

Lelah stares at him in the mirror.

"We're cursed, Lelah."

Lelah sighs itching her forehead with her middle finger.

"I get that I uncover ancient artifacts, but I don't believe in curses."

Chris chuckles; his face is varying shades of gray some with parts almost purple.

"How do you think you survived the crash?" He grins. "Is it Setepai or Meritamen?"

Lelah bites her cheek.

He smirks.

"We're cursed," he almost spits the word. "And there is only one way to break it. You're going to do exactly what she wants or this is gonna get a lot worse for both of us."

"How can it get any worse for you? You're dead," she says pointing at him lazily, but the finger trembles.

"She wants you, Lelah."

Lelah exhales through her nose.

"You can't run."

"You can't escape."

"I'd rather not do this alright," she says throwing her hands up before walking out the bathroom.

Chris Vail shakes his head before disappearing.

Lelah takes out her phone as she walks dialing the number by heart. It rings as she goes out the back-door Lelah looks both ways. She can't see anyone outside. She hears a police siren pass by and cautiously steps into the alley. The phone rings once more before going to voice mail.

"This is Dr. Jennifer Halsey. Please leave a message and I will reach you as possible."

The voice mail begins, so Lelah speaks quickly.

"Jenny, I got to leave. Things are happening right now that I can't explain, and I think I've had too much to drink. I'm just going to your place to crash. I'll call an Uber or your British substitute. See you at home."

She hangs up at the beep.

Lelah chews her tongue a moment before she begins walking. 'It must be later than I thought,' she thinks vaguely. She steps hurriedly with the click of her heels echoing against the stone. Lelah looks around her as she walks. Lelah takes out her keys but keeps moving. She places the keys in the spaces between her fingers until it looks more Wolverine than an ordinary human.

A low growl echoes from the dark of the alley.

She turns her head squinting to make it out.

A couple rats squeal racing along the asphalt.

Lelah takes a few steps back.

Whatever is there, growls deeper...harder.

Lelah's mouth drops as she makes out the creature snarling low on the ground.

It rises from a crouch. She makes out one leg...two. Its torso leans to one side as if the spine is broken. Another deep snarl vibrates it's chest causing the dirty layers around it. Five long bony fingers raise slowly to point at Lelah.

She sprints in the opposite direction.

Rats, leagues of rats in a perfect V formation give chase, as the creature's screeches follow.

Lelah can't make a sound.

She pounds on the doors so hard it sounds like thunder. No one answers so she keeps running. She runs until the ground beneath her moves. Lelah slams into the hard ground feeling tiny nails cling to her clothes...her skin. Lelah shrieks wildly punching with her Wolverine fist. Her shrill screams almost drown out the rats.

The rats are too many but she keeps swinging...keeps stabbing...but she can't get up.

Lelah fights to keep her eyes open.

A dry brown face stares back at her. Empty sockets where eyes once more. It reaches out to her with loose bandages hanging from her arm. A bony finger trails down Lelah's face.

"My chosen," the words seem to tear it's throat as it speaks. "My Meritamen."

Lelah screams.


	5. Setepai

Lelah shrieks.

It rings through their ears like a death knell.

Two bright lights race towards Lelah: never stopping.

Jenny and Nick yank her to the safe side of the road.

"Get out of the road, wanker!"

The car barely dodges Lelah continuing to speed pass.

"Fuck off, motherfucker!" Nick retorts not letting go of her shoulders. They stumble to the center to a circular field. Lelah shakes in Nick's arms: eyes glazed over. She can't breathe...can't stop moving. Jenny touches Lelah's forehead and her cheeks. Lelah doesn't react.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Lelah blinks breathing heavily.

"I-I-"

Lelah looks at Jenny then back to Nick.

She's speechless.

"You gotta say something," Nick says and points at the road. "Cause I need to know why I just saved your ass."

Lelah sighs heavily.

"The curse," she says haltingly. "It's real. It's so fucking real."

Jenny draws back, biting her lip and shutting her eyes for a moment.

"The mummy...Ahmanet...she wants me and she's been sending Nick's friend to get me."

Nick bites his cheek.

"You're telling me, Chris Vail, my best friend who I shot three times and killed, is working for the cursed mummy?"

"I know I sound crazy," Lelah says staring right into Nick's eyes. "But I woke up in the morgue with his white eye staring right at me."

Nick narrows his eyes and stands up taller.

"How does he look?"

"Dead," she says curtly.

Jenny intervenes stepping between the two.

She looks at Nick warily before turning back to Lelah.

"The doctor said you have a low-grade concussion," she says but Jenny won't look Lelah in her eyes. "We've survived a plane crash. We saw many people die in front of us. We were exposed to liquid mercury. It's entirely possible you're hallucinating from such things. I know a doctor in London who can help-"

"Don't switch up on her now," Nick retorts stepping closer. "I'm not saying I believe she's seeing Chris. I think your 'angering the gods' comment," he says making quotation marks with his hands. "-has her fucked up."

"I'm cursed," Lelah insists before saying quietly. "I've seen Ahmanet. She calls me her chosen: setepai."

Jenny pales.

Nick swears quietly kicking the ground.

"You really need to see that doctor in London," Jenny says giving Lelah a concerned look. "He can help you."

Nick shakes his hand.

"She doesn't need a quack. She needs to see the mummy coffin herself."

"Sarcophagus."

"You two read the writing on the damn box. Wasn't there a curse?"

"Sarcophagus," Jenny corrects loudly. "The hieroglyphs did mention a curse. It said if Princess Ahmanet was removed from her prison, she'd take over the world with the power of Set: god of death."

A warm hand trails down her spine.

 _"Come to me_ ," the feminine voice whispers behind her.

Lelah closes her eyes, and dark eyes lined in black kohl and blue paint stare back.

"Nick is right," Lelah says opening her eyes. "Jenny, you don't have to come. I need to see her, so I know this isn't real."

Jenny gnaws her cheek before steeling herself.

"Then I'm going with you."

The morning sky is still dark when they arrive near the crash site. The land is mostly green fields with an array of animals roaming freely. There are few buildings and even fewer homes. The fence's aged wood travels for miles on the dirt road. The country echoes with faint moose and distant helicopters.

The three of them sink into the mud as soon as they step out the car.

Cows loudly moo behind them, and their ride gives them no time to reconsider.

The black cab pulls off in a hurry spitting mud in its wake.

A helicopter flies by and smoke rises in the distance.

Both Nick and Jenny look to one another: hesitant.

Lelah wanders forward.

"Where the hell are you going? The crash is in the other direction."

Jenny has to grab her arm for Lelah to stop moving.

"It's this way," Lelah says shaking off Jenny's grip.

She continues going deeper into the dark.

They wander under the ruins before someone speaks again.

"I'm not doing this with you," Jenny whispers. "This isn't where the plane crashed."

"She crashed with the plane. I think she knows where she's going."

Nick walks side by side with Jenny occasionally knocking her shoulders.

"This isn't where my artifact is," she contradicts harshly. "The plane didn't crash here and I'm going after my artifact. If you still have any sense, you'll follow."

Jenny goes left, and Nick follows with a guilty shrug before he leaves.

" _Meritamen...Meritamen..._."

Lelah stills at the chorus of whispers.

An odd growl echoes through space.

Lelah looks up but there's nothing there. Her eyes dart from the ceilings to the floors in the rocky remains. She finds nothing but soil and pebbles. A light goes by as the helicopter searches for more bodies.

A door loudly creaks behind her.

Swiftly, Lelah turns.

A body stands in the doorway. Dusty bandages hang limply from their slender frame. She makes out an arm raising: fingers pointed directly at her. The head tilts, calling her near, and Lelah can make out a ponytail moving with the motion.

The ruins melt into the Egyptian desert. Ahmanet reaches for Lelah slightly crooking her fingers. Her almost black eyes pin Lelah to the floor. Lelah swallows as Ahmanet's pink lips linger on the word:

" _Setepai_ ," she whispers.

Lelah blinks and takes a step back, stunned.

She stands in the aisle with wide eyes. Moonlight paints the whole room in blacks and grays. On either side, pews line on each side. An altar lays only a few feet in front of her: stone covered in aged cloth. An angel watches over the altar with her hands folded in prayer.

'This isn't good.'

Lelah turns toward the door.

It slams shut.

Lelah blinks and turns her back to the pews.

"This is not happening."

She can hear something moving inside.

"No," she says softly. "No. Nope. Not happening."

Lelah studies the room for any exits.

There is a dark hallway guarded by Grecian arches.

'I'm not that stupid.'

She races to the door slamming into it back first.

She winces keeping her back unexposed.

"This isn't happening."

Something scrapes against the floor.

Lelah pulls on the door.

It won't open.

Something moves again, and Lelah turns toward the sound.

"Nick?" Something shuffles along the floor. "Jenny?" Something drags heavily.

She whispers the last closing her eyes and heart racing.

"Ahmanet."

She opens her eyes.

Lelah stills.

Even undead, Ahmanet is beautiful. Her skin is gray almost blue in this light. Her high cheekbones are still missing skin in some places. Even her nose, a proud nose missing half its side, still didn't take away from her face. Words raised like scars line her forehead and her cheeks traveling low down her neck.

Four irises, four pupils: 'pupila duplex' Lelah surmises.

" _Setepai_." Her stare glues Lela to the floor. Her face is impassive almost empty if she didn't study Lelah so earnestly. Ahmanet smiles slowly dipping her head. Her long fingers clutch at the flesh of Lelah's waist. Lelah gasps, her chest rising to meet Ahmanet's. Ahmanet's grin only widens before she jumps.

Lelah loses her breath with the movement.

She clutches Ahmanet's broad shoulders as they almost fly across the room.

Ahmanet never looks away from Lelah.

'Her holding me should not feel so familiar...'

They land on the altar.

'She's stronger than she looks..."

Ahmanet softly pushes her body to lay on the altar.

Still, Lelah's head thuds slightly on the stone.

Ahmanet stays on Lelah, a leg on each side of her hips and a devilish grin on her lips.

She takes Lelah's limp arms and presses them above Lelah's head with little effort.

Lelah's breathing picks up.

Ahmanet turns her head before leaning down further.

" _Meritamen, I have missed you so_ ," she murmurs against Lelah's cheek almost mouthing the tan skin.

Ahmanet lets go of Lelah's wrists.

Something dry latches on instead.

Lelah looks up: eyes blown.

The zombie yells in Lelah's face; its leathered skin cracking with the movement.

Lelah screams.

Slim fingers rub against the length of her cheek.

Lelah looks back to Ahmanet.

" _They won't hurt you, my Chosen. I won't allow it_."

Her hands drift from Lelah's cheek to the soft her neck, the swell of her chest, and the flat of her belly.

Swiftly, Ahmanet pushed Lelah's tee over her chest.

She caresses the soft curve of Lelah's belly even tracing the faint scars.

She grips Lelah's hips for a split moment before rising to Lelah's chest.

Ahmanet moans softly at the exposed skin before nuzzling her face in Lelah's chest.

'Second base!' her mind screams.'That's second base!'

Her face is cold where it touches Lelah's skin.

" _Your heart calls for me still_ ," Ahmanet says settling deeper into her chest pressing hard.

" _Meritamen_ ," Ahmanet murmurs. " _I have missed you much my Queen_."

Lelah struggles to breathe.

"I-I-don't understand."

Lelah's eyes widen as Ahmanet comes closer.

" _You will. This will hurt for a moment_ ," Ahmanet says mouthing a last kiss on her cheek.

Ahmanet sits up straight in a fluid motion. She squeezes the angel's head leaving small puffs of white dust in the air. Minuscule bits of dried clay miss Lelah's face. Her skeletal fingers grasp the hilt slowly moving the dagger from its resting place. Lelah bucks. Ahmanet only rolls her hips into the motion as the undead tighten their grip on her wrists and ankles.

" _God of Death_ ," she cries out. " _Mighty Set. I welcome you in this mortal body you gifted me. She will bear you into this world_ ," Ahmanet raises the dagger slowly. " _Join me at last_."

There is a gust of air as the dagger strikes.

Lelah shuts her eyes tight.

Nothing happens.

She opens her eyes.

Ahmanet hovers over her, silent and focused. The point of the dagger is centimeters from breaking skin. Lelah lays very still. She sees Ahmanet stare at the hilt, incredulous. Her thumb...it's in a hole. Ahmanet seethes steadily as a silent snarl forms on her lips.

The gasp echoes through the room.

"Oh shi-"

All heads all turn to the church door.

Jenny and Nick stand at the entrance open mouthed. Jenny's mouth opens, closes and opens again as she struggles for words. Her eyes dart from the woman on top of Lelah, the creatures holding her down and the dagger close to her belly. Nick's fingers betray him as the flash of his phone brightens the room before dying.

Ahmanet glares at the couple before turning back to Lelah. Her skin tingles from Ahmanet's stare. Lelah looks away from the two to stare back at Ahmanet. She swallows harshly stuck in place by her amber eyes.

"Idiots?" She calls out softly.

Nick sounds breathless when he answers.

"Sup?"

"Run," she croaks.

.

Ahmanet's face darkens.

She stabs the alter inches away from Lelah's hand before leaping in front of Jenny and Nick.

The zombie loosens his grip.

Without missing a beat, Lelah bucks her hips kicking wildly at the mummy rescue workers at her feet. One loses his head stumbling blind. She grabs the zombie near her hand by the neck slamming him into the altar until the head breaks. Lelah coughs gagging to herself. She takes the dagger stabbing the one on her right. Its high pitched squeals ring through her ears as she struggles to break it a part.

A pair of arms tightly grasps her wrist pulling her off the table.

She shrieks, dropping the knife and clawing at the bark-like arms surrounding her.

Something heavy and screaming flies into her back.

It sends her sprawled across the altar.

Lelah coughs before looking behind her.

Nick lays there, stunned, legs spread open. Sluggishly, a cute along his forehead bleeds. He looks back at her eyes screaming 'Did you see that shit?' Lelah nods her head numbly. 'He was at the door a second ago. How the hell-'

Something moves out of the corner of her eye.

Lelah turns to see it.

Ahmanet stands there with a proud back and a fond smirk pulling at her lips. Her eyes dart around the altar. The creature with a head hanging by a thread walks in place continually hitting the wall. At the foot of the altar, a body grasps wildly at the air with the head a couple feet away. Lelah follows her eyes silently counting.

Her eyes widen.

Nick sees one before she does. He rises to his feet. Already, she hears his disgusted groans as a mummy breaks.

Punches...kicks...whatever, they weren't built to last.

Tough fingers grab her skirt. Lelah turns with the motion pushing him into the altar. She fists the back of his shirt ramming and kicking him into the stone. The creature can't make a sound but echoes through her ears.

Ahmanet watches silently.

Her stare warms Lelah's skin. She doesn't look behind her amid the kicks and pushes. She doesn't have to. She feels Ahmanet's fixation like a hot flame. Head turned, she can almost see her lips curl, and knows that Ahmanet is coming closer like a magnet. An odd feeling spreads in her chest: warm, natural even, but wholly unfamiliar.

"Run!"

Lelah stops at the ear-splitting scream. She turns just in time to see Ahmanet stumble a single step. She scowls before looking behind her. Jenny stands there white and speechless. In a single move, Ahmanet snatches Jenny pushing her hard against a pillar. Jenny's white sneakers kick vainly weakening with each second.

She squeezes Jenny's throat just enough to leave her breathless and leans in for a deadly kiss.

"Ahmanet!"

She jerks away at her name. Instinctively, she turns to Lelah. The double irises burn gold in the cold of the room. Lelah shakes her head wildly hair waving goodbye with the motion.

Ahmanet's fingers loosen slightly on Jenny's throat.

Abruptly, her body curls.

Ahmanet's inhuman screech echoes off the walls.

The black hilt sticks out her back.

Nick stands behind her and pushes her roughly to the side.

Lelah's eyes follow the moment.

"RUN!"

His shout brings her back.

Jenny yanks out the dagger ignoring her screams, and they head for the door.

Lelah looks back.

Ahmanet stares back breathing harshly. She half lays on the floor with an arm clutching her back. Her face is cold, but her eyes hurt. She watches Lelah: her eyes brimming with betrayal and hurt.

A part of Lelah breaks at the sight.

As her run slows, Jenny literally pushes her to go faster.

Nick heads for the ambulance. Like an Olympian, he jumps the fence easily and sprints inside. He doesn't wait for them. Instead, he steadily speeds up forcing them to catch up. Jenny screams his name. Lelah doesn't. She waits until they're close enough before throwing Jenny inside.

Last, Lelah leaps inside banging into hard plastics and metal.

"Were you just gonna leave us there?" Jenny shouts.

Nick glanced at her before looking back at the road.

"I didn't race off," he justifies.

"She saved you from certain death on that plane, and you were still going to leave."

"Did you not see me get thrown into a mummy holding her hostage? You saw that, right?"

"You were gonna leave us!"

"You saw it, right?" Nick repeats.

"I can't unsee it!"

"There's a highway near here," Lelah speaks up. "Don't ask how but there is."

As Nick drives, Lelah looks at the Dagger of Set in Jenny's lap.

"Do you realize what this is?" Jenny asks gesturing to the dagger.

"It's the knife that almost killed your friend."

"Go here and take a right, " Lelah quietly says.

"How was it in a statue?" Nick says following her instructions.

"That statue was a reliquary. Crusaders would use them to hide holy relics."

Lelah interrupts.

"Ahmanet knew it was there," she says an odd dream-like quality to her voice.

"You're saying she brought the plane down on purpose?"

Jenny gasps.

"That's why she wanted you to come to the church."

"We," Nick emphasizes. "wanted to go to see where the mummy was. Not the church."

"It still brought us to her," Lelah concludes. "We wanted to see her corpse."

"I needed to see her corpse."

The word sickens her.

"Lelah, she's in your head."

Nick chuckles sarcastically.

"That's funny. I could've sworn she told us that after I saved her ass from getting ran over."

The car suddenly stops.

All three heads shoot up.

A heavy fog weighs heavily on the ground. It almost masks the church standing dark and dead in the back. In the middle, Ahmanet stalks toward them with all the time in the world. Her braid still lays over her shoulder, bandaged unruffled. Ahmanet grins smugly. Her eyes never move from Lelah's.

'I really shouldn't find this attractive. She just tried to kill me and I'm trying not to drool. This is so messed up.'

No one moves for a long moment.

"You drove us back to her."

"I don't drive," Lelah excuses herself.

"You're American! How can you not drive?!"

"Something about my body being thrown out of a vehicle takes the fun out of driving. Can we talk about this later?"

Ahmanet takes a relaxed step toward the car still smirking.

Lelah's heart misses a beat.

"Fuck."

The tires squeal as they peel away.

Jenny screams. Lelah screams. The corpses scream. One bursts through the passenger door hovering on Jenny's lap. Its' fingers stretch to Lelah's seat in the middle. Another hurls itself into the front window shrieking in Lelah's face.

She grabs it digging into the dry cords of its neck.

Lelah smashes the head against the dashboard.

Once.

Twice.

The third time it explodes into dry dirt, and Lelah throws the rest of his body out the window.

"LELAH! NICK!"

She turns her head. Jenny leans away from the creature failing to push it out the window. Lelah grabs its shoulders. Wildly, she headbutts it. Lelah punches it repeatedly.

"Not my face, Lelah!"

"Push, Jenny!"

The car swerves to the left.

It's bottom half smashes off

The ambulance veers right.

They scream.

It rolls.

Something pulls Lelah out. She hovers in the air. Jenny and Lelah lock eyes. Nick is speechless. Her body sucks out the window and rolls to the side of the crash.

One.

Two.

Three.

When her body stops, the ambulance keeps going.

Jenny's screams and Nick's curses echo through the forest.

The thuds stop.

"Guys?" Lelah calls out her head spinning.

She pats herself down: no bruises and no blood. Moist soil clings to her jeans. There's a tear on her thigh and a couple rips in her tee. She stomps through the forest.

"Shitfuck!"

Nick's voice echoes in the wood.

Lelah jumps off the small ledge.

She crouches to check on them.

Nick glares at the dashboard. He struggles with his seatbelt before it gives way. Lelah quickly reaches out dulling the approaching face plant. She lets go quickly wiping her bloody fingers on her jeans.

"Are you seriously hurt?"

"We're fine," Jenny says.

She goes to the other side.

Lelah looks in watching Jenny unclick herself and land in a crouch.

"I'm so glad your-"

Familiar warmth travels down her spine.

A mist starts to settle on the ground.

"Jenny, take Nick and get out of here," Lelah says tersely staring at the far away figure.

"Where are we supposed to go? What about the dagger?"

Lelah gives Jenny a look.

"Away from the creature trying to kill you."

She rises taking long strides to meet her.

Ahmanet saunters. Her long legs are precise with their every step. No movement is wasted. Head high and brow tight in focus, the mist is her cape: the world her throne.

She stops at Lelah's feet.

Ahmanet's fingers trail Lelah's cheek.

Lelah closes her eyes.

'Run,' she silently pleads wishing she could look back. 'Run.'

" _I will always find you_ ," Ahmanet says firmly. Her hand cups Lelah's cheek. She smiles smugly. " _You cannot hide...can not run from me, Meritamen_."

Someone's footsteps break twigs and leaves.

Lelah starts to look behind her.

Abruptly, Ahmanet stops her.

Instead, she leans in close to Lelah's ear. Her cool breath makes Lelah shiver. " _You were mine then_ ," she whispers and takes Lelah waist with one hand. " _You are mine now. Not hers, not his...mine_ ," Ahmanet briefly nips at her earlobe. Lelah jumps, eyes closed and knees suddenly weak.

Something cracks.

Something flies.

It lands in a pained wheeze.

Lelah's eyes shoot open.

She turns her head.

Nick lays on the ground staring blankly at something.

Jenny.

Lelah starts to run.

Ahmanet is already there.

She leans in close. Amber eyes study the woman in front of her. Long wavy blonde hair, wide blue eyes in terror, and Jenny's skin pale from the recent accident. Ahmanet's eyes narrow. She tilts her head eyes gleaming-

A sharp pain brings Lelah to her knees.

Their shrieks echo through the wood.

Lelah watches the barbs crying out as each one settles deeper into Ahmanet's skins.

Their screeches stop hearts.

Lelah's stops.

Ahmanet's doesn't.

 **Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites! I appreciate it all and those who sent ideas!**


	6. An Unwelcome Welcome

The lights flicker in the dead of night casting shadows against the golden walls. Two figures fight on the walls with their hair fanning around them at every turn. One is tall and slender: her moves sure as she swiftly bends away from a dagger's strike or lunges with her own. The smaller shadow meets each exchange edging away from its sharp pierce. She never lunges but defends matching each lunge with barely seconds to spare.

There is no competition.

The taller figure hits her wrist with a flat hand.

The dagger thuds to the ground.

In the middle of the room, Meritamen stays in place. A bronze dagger scarcely a shade darker than her skin presses against her throat. Meritamen looks down briefly; she stops as the cold metal digs slightly in. A smile slowly grows across her face. Dark eyes dart to the soft of Meritamen's neck, the red lips parted in a smile, and her heaving chest.

Ahmanet drops the dagger roughly pulling Meritamen into a kiss.

Her hands dig into Meritamen's hair not pulling but holding. While one hand loses itself in Meritamen's hair, the other grabs wildly: the thin material of her dress, the hot of her skin, and the addictive moans that vibrate Meritamen's throat. Ahmanet can't stay still, can't let go of her Meritamen, and Meritamen hugs her just as close.

With a wistful sigh, Meritamen draws back, lips red as wine and struggling for breath.

Ahmanet turns her attention to the bronze of her neck. She nips at the pulse that jumps for her attention. She sucks at the salt of her skin. Meritamen eyes flutter closed at the attention. She turns her head exposing more skin. Meritamen grins softly as she feels Ahmanet's lips spread. The soft lips drag against her skin so sweetly.

Meritamen allows the action keeping a hand on the nape of Ahmanet's neck.

Her eyes stay closed when Meritamen speaks.

"Perhaps he will have another daughter."

Sharply, Ahmanet withdraws.

The movement is oddly fluid even as she tenses. Brown eyes, nearly black, never move away from Meritamen's form. Her cheekbones stand out in stark relief from the sneer that cages them. Ahmanet doesn't blink and barely appears to breathe. She glowers: a burning look promising death and destruction to all in her way.

Her Meritamen could never feel the flames.

Meritamen opens her eyes smiling brightly. She ignores Ahmanet's scowl instead softly touching her cheeks. Immediately, Ahmanet's sneer fades. Her jaw unclenches lips settling into a small pout. Meritamen rubs the soft skin of her cheek with her thumb, and she can't help leaning into the comfort of Meritamen's touch. Slowly the black in Ahmanet's fiery brown eyes fades like a fire drawn back to its hearth.

"You are Pharaoh," Meritamen promises. Her hands still hold Ahmanet's cheeks. Yet as she kisses the corner of Ahmanet's mouth, Ahmanet pushes herself closer.

"I will enjoy raising her with us," Meritamen continues. She moves a hand to press a second, deeper kiss, to Ahmanet's skin. "It'll be like raising another you. The Pharaoh is old and never sired sons before. Think of this as an opportunity. When he falls, your sister will be your heir...our heir," Meritamen's smile crinkles her eyes until they almost disappear. "No male needed."

Ahmanet closes her eyes for a moment.

She opens them: the warrior is gone, princess hid, but Ahmanet's softness.

"I am so tired of waiting," she whispers. She leans close to Meritamen past her eyes to nip her earlobe. "I want Egypt," her voice deepens." I want you." Ahmanet nuzzles into Meritamen's neck. "I want my queen," Ahmanet rasps. She mouths her neck...her clavicle. Meritamen exhales shakily pulling Ahmanet closer as the shoulders of her dress fall to the floor.

Lelah comes to slowly: eyes fluttering open.

She opens her eyes to a new world of metal. Blurry eyed, Lelah blinks once, twice and again waiting for the slate grey walls to go back to gold. They don't. Instead the van's metal walls rattle through her ears, and her body trembles as the vehicle races on the road. Even as Lelah's body shakes, she never falls off her prison. Thick black material wraps tightly around Lelah's frame securing her to the metal pallet built in the van.

Lelah tries and fails to calm down.

' _Is this how Ahmanet felt stuck in that sarcophagus?'_ the thought crosses Lelah's mind, unbidden.

' _Worse_ ,' a voice similar to her own answers. Lelah shuts her eyes to think. There Lelah sees...Lelah. She is lighter: more olive than tan with a body thinner from a world of no labor. Two thick straps curved over her shoulders exposing her décolletage as the thin material dropped to her ankles. Wine red lips watched Lelah warmly as her blood-red fingertips caressed Lelah's face.

Meritamen smiles at her reincarnation.

"We could not save her in the last life," she says staring earnestly into new copper brown eyes. "Save her in this one."

She leans into Lelah pressing soft lips against her cheek before disappearing as Lelah's eyes open.

Chris Vail's glossy white eye stares back at her.

Lelah chokes on her own scream.

His skin is fading rotting darker shades of grey and black. In some places, his face is already peeling revealing the muscle underneath. A single dark brown eye watches Lelah almost sadly as she gags.

"I'm aging like milk. I get it," Vail says quickly stepping away from her frame. "Some of us aren't so lucky when we get brought back. Some of us aren't dead but aren't alive. This is what happens."

He gestures to his decaying body.

Lelah stops herself from doing just that.

She stares at the floor instead.

"Do us both a favor. Stop running. Would it be so bad to live for eternity with your soulmate? To be the queen of the planet? To fulfill your last life's dying wish?"

The grey light from the window disappears. Her world blackens. She can't see him at all but still feels both of his eyes focus on her. Lelah shivers.

"Time's up."

He leaves as a wisp of smoke as the van doors open.

Four men covered neck to toe in black rush into the van. They storm in; their stomps echo on metal with clangs ringing through Lelah's ears. The men swarm around her with a man at each corner of her prison. They move as a single unit. One moment, each stand silently watching her. In the next moment, a mass of arms push and pull at her body.

The restraints give in seconds clanging to the ground.

She wastes no time.

Lelah kicks wildly: the navy of her jeans black in the dark of the van. Her long legs are near invisible in the air missing men by centimeters. Where her legs fail, Lelah's arms do not. She grabs one smashing his face into the hard metal slab and pushing another just as quickly into the cage behind her. Lelah slams it shut. Another pair of hands grabs her waist tightly and lifts.

For a moment, Lelah just dangles in the air like a kitten in its mother's grasp.

Then, Lelah loses it.

She swings her head, frenzied, and it smashes into his nose.

Once.

Twice.

Then something cracks.

The man behind her screams dropping her instinctively to grab his bleeding nose.

Lelah's body thuds when it hits the ground. Her head bounces on the ground once...twice.

She lays there stunned.

Limp, Lelah is pulled over a Goliath's shoulder. She hangs like a child's rag doll: denim a stark contrast to the black armor. The men pull a black bag over her face and start to move.

They march in unison. Single file, one man guards the front and two at the back. The two others drag Nick out in a hold with a matching black cloth over his face. Like a funeral procession, they carry Lelah and Meritamen to their final resting place.

Dazed, Lelah's body bounces with Goliath's every step. She can't think; Her head aches beating in time with her heart. Lelah's whole body hurts. Lelah can't explain it, but in some places it feels like she was shot... Like something ripped right through her. Adrenaline gone, Lelah feels it all and moans.

Unbidden, a dangerous purr echoes through her ears low and deadly.

Lelah's eyes open.

Lightning swift, she raises her arm. Goliath doesn't notice; he steadily marches in sync with his peers. She flexes her arm aiming it at the back of his skull.

He falls.

Hard.

Midfall, Lelah reaches out. One of the men takes her by the wrists like a makeshift chain. She wiggles her fingers before digging them into his eyelids: deep but without fingernails. He screams, and the other guard drops Nick. He pulls Lelah off tugging harshly at her middle until his comrade's head finally drops. Nick sucker punches the guard shaking his hand as the body falls to the ground.

The room is a mess of groans and cries.

For a single moment, Nick and Lelah stare at one another. His forehead is bruising an ugly violet with a break in the skin scabbed mid-ooze. His lip is split, yet Nick's eyes check Lelah for wounds. Her body is bloody and bruised. Various parts of her skin are darkening a sickening purple from the restraints. A couple parts of her shirt are bloody: random bleeding points though she can't remember being shot.

They nod to another and run.

Within the hour, guards carry their bodies.

She's surrounded. Two guards hold her this time; each man holds an arm. Easily, she hovers a couple feet above the ground. Her legs kick the air wildly: too short to touch the ground. Lelah can't even see Nick at this point. The men all walk in a state of disarray. Some have black eyes, some bleeding, but all of them have ripped suits.

Eventually, the brigade stops.

They enter a study or office of sorts. Bookcases filled to the brim align almost every wall in reds and browns. There is a dark almost black desk waiting at the other end of the room. It's spacious with thick beige columns and floor to roof length windows with reinforced glass. There is only one obvious way in or out.

She is sufficiently trapped.

The men lower Lelah and Nick to the ground limping and locking the door with a final click.

A middle-aged man waits in the center of the room holding two folders. His arms are in front of himself tightly entwined. He's dressed in a black business suit that's almost blue under the lights. He readjusts his gold-framed glasses before speaking.

"I'm sorry you received such a welcome. We weren't expecting such a violent greeting."

 _You kidnap someone and expect gratitude?_

"Perhaps you should send an invitation next time," Lelah replies blandly before settling in a small chair nearby. She grabs a bottle of chilled wine off the table beside her. Lelah holds the bottle to her aching head unamused.

"Who are you?"

The man turns to Nick. He jumps between the two biting his cheek.

"I'm a doctor," he continues despite Nick's snort. "Chemical pathology, neurosurgery. Fellow of the Royal Society."

The doctor stops for a breath.

"I'm also a lawyer."

Lelah snickers but when he turns to her, her face smooths.

"My name is Jekyll. Dr. Henry Jekyll."

Henry glances at Lelah pointedly.

"Make yourself comfortable."

 _Hard to do that when my head has a heartbeat._

Henry walks over to Lelah's seat. He kneels to look her in the eyes. Fingernails digging into the soft cloth, her face has no reaction to his proximity. Instead, she holds the bottle ever tighter.

Henry gives her a brief smile.

"In theory, I know all about you."

Lelah stares blankly at him.

"Lelah Fidelis Rene." At that, Nick snickers but quickly hushes when she turns her head in his direction. "American. Egyptologist, archeologist. Jennifer raved about your study on the linguistics of Ancient Egypt for your Master's qualification."

Lelah's mouth twitches.

"I found your thesis on same-sex relationships in Ancient Egypt very enlightening."

He tilts his head raising an eyebrow still grinning.

Henry stops when Lelah doesn't react turning to Nick instead.

"And you," he continues less than enthused. "Army reconnaissance, a decorated soldier," Nick drops the files on his desk. "and page after page indicating a deep and troubling moral turpitude."

He looks between the two quickly.

"But, you see, this file contains nothing of any real value to me."

Henry walks back to Lelah's seat.

"Miss Rene," he says offering an arm to Lelah. She takes it warily eyeing it in distrust. "Mr. Morton," he nods at Nick to follow.

As they get closer, Lelah's body tenses further. She ignores the thuds of their footsteps and Henry's grip on her arm. Lelah can only focus on pain. Its dull pangs trudge through her body: unfamiliar. Lelah's stomach curdles as stifled groans start to echo though her ears. They're high-pitched: almost palpable in its agony.

Lelah and the others enter quietly. The room is near empty; computers to the right and multiple stairways that lead to other levels. The entire room is metal and concrete with harsh greys and black. In the center of it all is Ahmanet. The heir is forced to her knees; her arms are held together tightly behind her back and raised by a chain. The chains link to a collar around her throat, night against the dust of her skin, and silver tubes connect to the collar. The inky ponytail graces the floor as Ahmanet's body shivers holding in her cries.

Her head suddenly lifts; the amber eyes glow.

Her hitched breaths cease as she takes in Lelah. She takes in the blooming bruises in thick symmetrical lines along her arms. Lelah's forehead is a mottled mess of reds and blacks: an adept cloud of fire. The once light denim jacket is stained with blood, her blood, and a rusty maroon.. One..two..three holes at least are rusty with slight trails of blood as if someone shot Lelah through and through.

A harsh growl echoed through the room: low and deadly.

They don't say a word.

They don't have to.

The two cannot look away from each other.

Lelah runs from Henry's side tearing her arm out of his grasp. She goes to Ahmanet automatically sinking to her knees. Her eyes frantically dart along Ahmanet's body.. 'There's no blood,' Lelah reminds herself examining the ancient cloth. 'There's holes but no wounds...nothing.' A low moan escapes Ahmanet's lips as she leans toward Lelah. Her eyes are a odd combination: furious and full of unspoken fear. Her eyes never stray from the holes on the bloody jacket as if she could burn the fabric through her stare alone. Lelah tilts her head, hair swinging with the movement, before unbuttoning the ruined fabric. The jacket takes forever to drop.

The room quiets.

There on the dingy fabric is her clotted blood but no wounds. There are circular rips in the undershirt as if something with barbs tore through skin and muscle before ripping out her back. There are thin trails almost purple now in color. Through the holes, all anyone can see is smooth tan skin.

Ahmanet's head drops as she nuzzles into Lelah ignoring the witnesses behind them. Her whole body shivers harshly before abruptly stilling. Lelah's body trembles, yet she doesn't move away. One hand caresses Ahmanet's hair removing old bandages and webs while the other creates designs along Ahmanet's back. Ahmanet relaxes in the show of comfort, but her eyes... They stare behind Lelah's shoulder smoldering with a dark promise.

 _You will pay for this._

A large hand digs into Lelah's shoulder almost dragging her away. Chains rattling,Ahmanet follows the movement but until she's forced back. She seethes as Henry gently forces Lelah to her feet, and Nick stands there waiting with a protective grip around her waist. Ahmanet growls low, but it ends in a keen as the mercury travels turns to run to her, but Nick only holds Lelah tighter. Henry quirks his head at their reaction before he steps firmly in front of Ahmanet blocking Lelah's view.

There Henry stands tall in his three-piece suit with a grave look in his cold eyes.

"Welcome to Prodigium."

"From the Latin _monstrum vel prodigium_ ," he pauses sweeping the room with a cursory glance. His blue eyes linger on Lelah's. " A Warning to Monsters."

Over Henry's shoulders, Nick flinches at Ahmanet's tortured form. She does not scream...refuses to beg. Instead, her lithe frame convulses with her silent shrieks. Her muscles tremble in the metal's grip. Ahmanet's eyes never leave Lelah despite the piercing pain within them.

"What are you doing to her?"

Nick ambles past Ahmanet opening her to Lelah's sight.

"We're embalming her with mercury. At minus thirty-eight degrees, the mercury in her veins will solidify. She will be safe for dissection then."

The three are silent in their horror.

"I apologize for our lack of decorum," Henry rambles on. "We had very little time to prepare for our guest and only the information Jenny could provide for us."

He moves behind Jenny tucking her hair in an almost paternal gesture.

"In truth, she works for us. It's not an exact science, this business."

Nick bites his cheek crossing his arms.

"Business?"

Henry doesn't react yet clarifies.

"Evil."

Jenny turns to Henry. Her body is relaxed, but her lip trembles in an almost plea. Her blue eyes stay glued on his: wide and beseeching. Her brow wrinkles deeply at his plan of action.

"Henry, this isn't the way I wanted us to study her. She is witness to a world we barely even know. To do that is not a dissection. Ahmanet is alive; that is vivisection."

Henry's tone gentles seeing Jenny in such duress.

"It's for the greater good, Jenny. I am sorry. She is the most ancient evil we have and will ever witness. We cannot allow her or her God to destroy this world."

 _This hypocritical piece of shit._

Lelah's body stiffens in Nick's grasp.

"Cut the bulshit," Lela interrupts. "Can we not ignore how unethical this really is?"

Henry turns dramatically face tensing in righteous wonder and anger.

"You believe evil should destroy this world?"

Lelah straightens, back rod straight. In an instant, the air becomes heavy...static. Something powerful races through her veins...familiar yet not. Her lips curl, copper colored eyes wild, and in that instant she is no longer an archaeologist. She is a queen.

"I believe in the Geneva Conventions," she says seething. "You remember that, don't you? Or, do you only remember the laws that benefit you? You can't preach to me about monsters when I'm staring at one down right now. Dissection? DISSECTION?!"

Lelah turns to Jenny. Her countenance remains unchanged, but there's a seething betrayal that lights Jenny on fire from the inside out. The blonde avoids Lelah's eyes staring at the cold concrete instead. It doesn't save her.

"I can't believe you," Lelah almost spits. "You used my work to do this?"

Henry walks into Lelah's space. His face is smooth and almost plastically calm. He takes her by the shoulders in an attempt to force them into eye to eye contact. She doesn't budge forcing him to crouch to meet her eyes. There's an odd pain in his face from the movement, but Lelah remains unmoved.

His voice is gentle almost paternal in his attempt to guide Lelah.

"Come with us. Allow me to explain."

Lelah looks back at him.

"People in hell want ice water. Do you see me getting them something to drink?"

She storms past him returning to Ahmanet's side.

"

Furious, he clears the floor stomping back to his own office.

Lelah hears everyone get back to work and silently waits under Ahmanet's eyes.

When she hears Nick and Jenny leave, she makes her move.

Lelah crouches moving closer to Ahmanet's body until her face is hidden from the camera. Her thick curly hair falls into her face hiding both Ahmanet and Lelah from view. Their foreheads touch, waves and tendrils meeting again after centuries apart, and Lelah closes her eyes in remembrance. Ahmanet feels different, frozen, but somehow the fire inside is the same. The two stay there eye closed.

" _I hate seeing you in pain_ ," Ahmanet whispers to her chosen. " _They will pay for this, I promise you_."

" _Ahmanet, I promise you he will pay for this_ ," Lelah turns allowing their noses to touch. They both open their eyes: one sincere and the other troubled. " _I won't let you stay in here. I promise_."


End file.
